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Monday, June 7, 2010

Calorimetry Crochet A.K.A. Thick Headband

Over the weekend I saw a few of these adorable headbands that were selling for 10-15 dollars each! Of course my frugal nature sent me searching for general instructions so that I could whip up my own and use up some of my yarn stash. After all, if you don't spend money on finished products, you can spend that money buying new notions, right? Well, once you clear our your old stash to make room of course. For this project I was using some left-over Alpaca/Lambswool blend that I had hand-died. This project really does not require much yarn, so check your stash and see what small yarn cakes you have tucked away.

I searched around for awhile and found an Etsy store which sells patterns with wonderful reviews. I normally do not buy patterns, because for small projects there are generally plenty of ideas shared for free on the net, and I feel I am competent enough to figure things out on my own through trial and error. I worked through the pattern in about 2 hours. While it was well written, and rather easy to understand, the thought behind the pattern really lacked. The bottom calorimetry (made from the pattern purchased on Etsy) lays flat, and because of the way the pattern increases and decreases the edges are rough.

So, the next morning, I started working up a different pattern to see if I could get better results and I am much happier. Can you see the topcalorimetry has some shape to it? It is slightly concaved. This stretches and fits to the head well. The size difference was a concious choice. I made it a bit smaller to fit both Abi and Issy, where the bottom wrap would fit a large toddler up to an adult. The best part of buying the pattern was the cute flower that came with it. I trimmed it out in white to make it stand out and then attached it to an alligator clip so that it can be worn separately. I tried to model it on Abigail as well, and while it fits, she wouldn't leave it on her head long enough for me to snap the picture. I don't know where she gets that stubborn nature, I really don't.